As a someone born in Hawaii and now living in New York City for the past 15 years, I often get quizzical looks and questions of validity whenever I sport anything to do with my favorite sports team, The Seattle Seahawks. As we are about to begin another Super Bowl with the Seahawks as the NFC representatives I have been called out by some as a bandwagon fan or questioning my loyalty.

Let me set the all of you doubters straight; I have always been a Seahawks fan. When I say always, I am talking about the early 80’s when NFL football came into my consciousness. At this point I was living in Alaska and with limited television offerings, we did get Seahawks games telecast. I remember the royal blue jerseys, the cool silver helmets and pants. I remember Zorn to Largent, then Krieg to Largent, the grandfather of the Legion of Boom, Kenny Easley and the real Curt Warner. I remember playing football with my best friend Gary and he wanted to be Jim McMahon from the Bears while I wanted to be Steve Largent and make every catch possible. I didn’t care they weren’t the best. In fact, because they weren’t so good they felt more approachable, they were the underdog, they were my team. They became my passion and I tried to know everything about them. I could recite stats and bios from the backs of their football cards.

I was a fan. And fans don’t waver. I remember shaking my head in disgust as Bo Jackson ran over The Boz for a touchdown. I remember having to cheer Kelly Stouffer and Rick Mirer. I remember the 2-14 season. I remember that like The Sonics, we almost lost the Seahawks. I remember a resurgence in the 90s with Warren Moon, Cortez Kennedy and Ricky Watters. I remember the arrival of Mike Holmgren and the emergence of Matt Hasselback and Shaun Alexander. I remember the refs in the Detroit Super Bowl. I remember falling down again and then slowly rising up with Pete Carroll and then reaching the promised land.

As I sit here writing this I am getting a little choked up. And yes, after the unbelievable comeback win in this years NFC title game I teared up. That is passion. Everyone should be able to feel this in some area of their life. Whether it is a football team, a baseball team, favorite band, a restaurant, a love of horticulture, whatever. I have found what moves me to the point of tears and it started long before any Super Bowl wins. My loyalty to this team is something has developed over time. And although some years have been rough, my faith in this team has never faltered. I look forward to celebrating more years of highs and riding out the lows with them. Go Hawks!